This invention relates generally to fences and more particularly to a novel bracket for rail fences to provide faster, more accurate, and stronger attachment for the rails to a post.
One of the most common types of fences uses a post and rail arrangement either for the complete fence or as a basic support arrangement for more decorative design fences. The construction of these fences involves assembling a number of vertical posts usually all of the same height by embedding them in the ground or otherwise providing a firm base support. The post may be round, square, rectangular and cross-section and generally extend upward from the ground at least as high as any part of the completed fence.
The rails are then attached directly to the posts and extend horizontally between the posts and these rails may be either sufficient in number to provide the complete fencing barrier or else utilized as a support for vertical boards or pickets or other type of panels as may be desired. If it is desired that the completed fence have some sort of symmetry in appearance from each side it is common to extend rails between the sides of the post. This construction usually requires some sort of attachment bracket for each rail and also generally requires the length of the rail closely match the spacing between the post sides and therefore requires special cutting if the rails are of a standard size lumber.
The other approach is to attach the rails directly to one side of the post with nails or screws so that the rail ends overlap each another either vertically or horizontally. In order to provide sufficient areas of engagement between the rails and the posts, the posts should be either square to prevent a flat surface adjacent the rail or, if of other shape, have a space cut away to provide the necessary flat surface. In any case, the assembly of the fence requires careful measurement to ensure that all the rail to post joints are at the same height and the strength depends entirely upon the fasteners used to connect the rails to the posts.